"I derive my greatest joy from

taking care of patients and

seeing my research program thrive

thanks to philanthropic support."

P.K. Shah, MD

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Prediman Krishan (P.K.) Shah, MD

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

  • Director, The Helga and Walter Oppenheimer Atherosclerosis Research Center
  • Director, Atherosclerosis Prevention and Treatment Center
  • Shapell and Webb Family Chair in Clinical Cardiology
  • Immediate Past Director, Division of Cardiology
  • Director, the Steven S. Cohen Endowed Fellowship in Atherosclerosis Research

Cedars-Sinai and UCLA

  • Professor of Medicine and Cardiology

ABOUT DR. SHAH

For P.K. Shah, MD, saving lives is more than a professional vocation – it is also a personal passion. Shortly after he graduated from high school in Kashmir, India, at age 13, his older sister was diagnosed with a rare, rapidly progressive cancer; she died three months later. Dr. Shah has been committed to expanding the boundaries of medical possibility ever since.

It’s a commitment he has leveraged to great effect. As the Shapell and Webb Family Chair in Clinical Cardiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Dr. Shah sets the standard for superior clinical care and breakthrough research and discovery. His work helps unlock the mysteries of the human heart, transforming patient outcomes by making critical strides in the treatment of acute coronary syndromes and congestive heart failure.

Ranked among the top cardiologists in the country, Dr. Shah is renowned for seeing what lies beyond the scientific horizon. His pioneering research, conducted in collaboration with colleagues around the globe, has paved the way for the development of a vaccine for atherosclerosis and devised a strategy capable of reversing arterial cholesterol buildup. Dr. Shah is quick to credit his success to the people who make it possible: “I derive one of my greatest joys from taking care of patients, and philanthropic support has allowed my research program to thrive.”

After attending medical school in India, Dr. Shah completed three residencies – one in neurology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi and one in internal medicine at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, before completing a cardiology fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. In over 35 years as an attending cardiologist with Cedars-Sinai, Dr. Shah has continued to raise the bar on achievement, assuming an extraordinary range of leadership roles including director of inpatient cardiology and the coronary care unit and founder and director of the Helga and Walter Oppenheimer Atherosclerosis Research Center.

Over the course of a truly remarkable career, Dr. Shah’s more than 650 contributions to scientific papers, reviews, book chapters, and abstracts have been prolific and include editing or co-editing four textbooks on heart disease. He has been an active leader of the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including Cedars-Sinai’s most prestigious honor, the Pioneer in Medicine Award, as well as the Distinguished Scientist Award from the American College of Cardiology, and the James B. Herrick Award from the American Heart Association.

Dr. Shah is an established visionary in cardiac research, seeing what lies beyond the scientific horizon and uncovering new heart therapies that save countless lives.

RESEARCH PROFILE

Cardiology

P.K. Shah, MD, is on a mission when it comes to matters of the heart. As director of the Cedars-Sinai Smidt Heart Institute’s Oppenheimer Atherosclerosis Research Center and Atherosclerosis Prevention and Treatment Center, and immediate past director of the Division of Cardiology, he leads a team of clinicians and researchers committed to finding next-generation treatments for patients across the globe. His work is revolutionizing the science of cardiac care as it saves countless lives and strengthens the fabric of our community.

The Power of Protection

What if our bodies could be taught to heal themselves? While studying the population of a small northern Italian town, Dr. Shah discovered that some residents of Limone sul Garda benefit from a mutated gene that provides greater protection against atherosclerosis and vascular inflammation, the processes that lead to clogged arteries, heart attacks, and strokes. This extraordinary finding made international headlines and was featured on CBS’s 60 Minutes in 1994.

Dr. Shah established the Atherosclerosis Research Center in 1993. He is now directing experimental studies showing that the mutated gene produces a protein that can rapidly shrink arterial plaque. Next on the horizon: a technique to deliver the gene itself to the human liver, causing it to start producing the protein on its own. Early results are very encouraging. Dr. Shah and his team are testing the same approach in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.

Changing the Game

Imagine a vaccine for heart disease that would fend off life-threatening cardiac complications. Working with Swedish scientist Jan Nilsson, MD, PhD, and Cedars-Sinai colleague KY Chyu, MD, Dr. Shah has begun to make this a reality.

Their collaborative efforts have demonstrated the immune system’s capacity to fight against plaque buildup triggered by the LDL (“bad cholesterol”) molecule. The result: the first-ever vaccine for atherosclerosis, engineered from parts of the LDL molecule.

It’s a game-changing development that has been proven to reduce arterial plaque in animal models by 30 to 65 percent. The next step before patient inoculation: human clinical trials.

Ahead of the Curve

Dr. Shah leads the field in uncovering novel approaches to promote and sustain heart health. His many innovations put him ahead of the curve and include conducting the first human study showing how statins reduce the risk of blood clots and demonstrating how to use the electrocardiogram to detect the re-opening of a closed artery at the bedside and without an angiogram.

Committed to expanding the boundaries of medical possibility, Dr. Shah has made critical strides in the treatment of heart disease.